Living On Minimum Wage (Honest Response)

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[philly]

I live in Idaho and the minimum wage is $7.25 / hour. The local McDonald's is paying $18 and they still can't hire enough people.

[Lindseyhannah]

I worked as a waitress for one of my first jobs where I was paid $2.13 an hr. It was a very small diner that was very cheap to eat at, so a 20% tip was typically $1-3. If I didn’t make enough money to count as minimum wage they were supposed to pay us the difference on our paycheck. Whenever I wouldn’t make enough to equate to minimum wage my manager would override the system to claim I made more money on tips than I did so she wouldn’t have to do the paperwork to pay me correctly. This also allotted in more taxes being taken out for me for money I didn’t even make. Safe to say I quit after a month.

[cynthiag.]

While everything is in your control, I think it’s important to realize how the stress of this type of lifestyle doesn’t even allow you enough time and mental clarity to pull yourself out of it.

[arminarsch]

I think tipping culture in the US is way out of control. Having to pay 15-20% tip because you know the service makes close to zero $ base income is just wrong. Also it gives you less freedom to appreciate really good service (let’s be honest, who gives 30% tip for really good service?). It should be the restaurant’s obligation to give a fair pay to the service, not the customer’s job.

[MichaelRoberts]

Fighting the employer while you work for them is easier said than done since many of them just fire you. Which is also illegal, but now you have fight them in court while not having a job.

[dan_lev]

A tip out from a tip that doesn't exist is illegal and should be reported to the labor board. Also the minimum tip wage is only if the person receives tips in excess of the minimum wage. If the staff doesn't make at least minimum wage, then the restaurant is required to pay them minimum wage.

[BekEhr]

Mom and pop diners can afford to sell at such a low cost because they don’t spend millions on advertisements and corporate bonuses. They are honest people who just like what they do.

[hydroho]

i used to be in the food industry. after covid i said i would never go back. i applied to EVERY remote job i could find and landed one. best decision ever.

[anastasiamorrison]

Thinking back to those server days, I remember making $30 in a shift and having spent much of that on parking. When you get the supplemented amount, you’re still only typically making 1k a month in wages.
I’d really love to see a video on living off of this sort of wage. Taking jobs that pay 17/hour can still feel like you’re treading water with the cost of living where it is right now.

[Jacob-wnqx]

I would like to say that while automation plays apart in the loss of factory jobs, beginning in the 90s and early 2000s most factory jobs were lost as companies offshored jobs to places with cheap labor.

[RasmusBLusk]

Your answer to most of what they said were just "They got to be able to find something else" While this might be true it doesn't really change that those jobs should be payed more

[sarahschroeder]

I worked as a waiter in Oklahoma and was paid $2/hr. At the end of two weeks the restaurant would pay out the cost of minimum wage if my tips didn't cover it, which happened every time. Many servers choose not report cash tips, which is why we always recommend tipping in cash. However, that still wasn't enough to cover the cost of living. I had no car, no debits, I walked to work, and I remember eating whatever the cooks would sneak for us because I couldn't afford making food. It wasn't sustainable and many people had second full time jobs at another restaurant or bar but people had little or no other options.

[DownwiththeRabiit]

If you don't make minimum wage on tips, the restuarant is supposed to compensate that by law. That is how it was for me when I was in the industry but it was never needed

[alvaroquintero]

Here’s something people don’t consider. Working for tips is addictive because your gambling each shift to see how much you make. Some you loose, some you work a double and only make $20 and some you walk out at the end of a 4 hour shift with $250. Not a single job in the planet (legal) can pay you $60+ per hour with no need to have any sort of education, degree, significant skills, or not even a clean background.

[LisetteZ]

Graham, what I think you missed about upward mobility. I’ve talked to people on the poverty line trying to give them ideas. They don’t have a laptop, computer or printer. They have a shitty, unreliable phone. Simple things like that make it so much harder to get ahead. Also, employers see your resume and it’s really hard to go from minimum wage jobs to office worker sadly.

Mind you, this is in the Netherlands but I reckon it also applies to the USA

[edwardholguin]

Graham: If they pay them anymore money they may go out of business
Also graham: No other countries need tips to pay there employees its so weird 😂

[strawberry]

I lasted in the food industry three whole shifts. I was degraded and disrespected by enough tourists in those three days that made it not worth it. Thankfully I had no one relying on me or bills to pay at the time. Barely getting a taste of what those in the food industry go through makes me a forever tipper. Although, it's not fair that the fate of other's finances is up to the diner. They deserve better protections and baseline wages. These payouts and other loopholes so many owners abuse must be stopped.

[IRLand]

In rural areas, like in my case, it ends up being cheaper for my wife to stay home with the kids rather than pay for childcare. It ended up being quite the blessing though and my wife wouldn't trade that time with our kids for all the money in the world.

[craigcarter]

If I did that diner job, I just wouldn’t want to show up on weekdays. You are basically making money by not going to work all day.

[thegrayjedi]

When I worked at Amazon, I injured my back badly (L3-L4 Herniated Disc). I was told either keep working, or leave. The district manager told me: "Plenty of people will replace you." Honestly, the biggest issue in America today is the lack of Government protecting the people from greedy and abusive employers. And it has to be the Government. Who else will look out for the little guy?